


A Unhealthy Work-Work Balance

by mariadperiad20



Series: Foray into B99 [32]
Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Appendicitis, Hurt Jake Peralta, Hurt/Comfort, Jake Needs a Healthy Work-Life Balance, Jake Peralta has ADHD, S1 EP 4, Whump, like boi Blease take a break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:40:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27746881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariadperiad20/pseuds/mariadperiad20
Summary: The beat cop walked off, and Jake gritted his teeth before standing up - ignoring the spots that flashed across his vision as he did so, and biting back the bolt of pain that reverberated out from his abdomen.The annoying ache had long since turned into a throbbing pain, but it somehow still seemed to be worsening. Still, he wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to close this case - he knew Amy would swoop in and add it to her felony count in a heartbeat, and he wasn’t going to lose a point just because of a stupid little stomach ache.Request fic!
Series: Foray into B99 [32]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1320137
Comments: 13
Kudos: 186





	A Unhealthy Work-Work Balance

“Damn, Jake, you look sick.” Terry said as he walked past.

“Oh, thanks.” Jake replied, hiding a grimace as he sat down at his desk.

“No, man, seriously, you look bad. What’s up?”

Jake waved off the concern boredly. “Look, I just… ate something I shouldn’t have.”

That was true - Jake’s ADHD meant he sometimes forgot to do things. Like keep track of how long ago he had made or bought food, if that food even made it into the fridge. He honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he finally managed to give himself food poisoning - how he’d managed to avoid it this long was frankly more of a surprise.

“You feel nauseous? I have just the cure!” Boyle said excitedly, already opening a desk drawer.

“Jake doesn’t want your food, Boyle.” Rosa said shortly, “He’s trying not to throw up.”

Boyle looked mildly offended, but he closed the drawer - much to Jake’s relief. Just the thought of eating anything of Boyle’s made him feel even worse. As if he hadn’t just eaten a who-knows-how-old burger that was on his kitchen counter. Maybe it wasn’t in his best interest to judge.

Amy raised an eyebrow, “Well, if you feel so bad, maybe you should go home for the day. We can cover for you.”

“No, no, I’m fine.” Jake shrugged dismissively, “Just need to wait it out.”

“Alright.” Amy said skeptically, even as she turned back to the file open on her desk.

Jake leaned forward in his chair, ignoring the twinge in his abdomen as he did so, and followed suit. His work wasn’t very efficient, though, since the discomfort kept drawing his attention away from the papers in front of him. He had a suspect coming in later in the day for questioning, and he wasn’t going to skip out on that. Jake was 98% sure the guy did it - since the chance of someone falsifying thirteen surveillance tapes seemed improbable, but not totally impossible - and wanted to make the arrest so he could be done with the case. It was a felony robbery, though, so he doubted it was going to be a cakewalk.

Lunchtime came and went - Jake briefly considered eating, but felt his nausea ramp up just thinking about it, and decided not to risk it. How he’d avoided becoming physically ill so far escaped him, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Amy cast him a mildly concerned glance, but didn’t comment. Jake knew he looked a bit pale - he felt sweaty, too, which was gross - and was grateful she didn’t bring it up, since he figured Terry would send him home for sure.

“Peralta?”

Jake swiveled in his chair, biting down on his lip as the movement aggravated the pain. “Yep?” He asked, trying to sound as cheerful as he could manage.

“We have George Phorgedan in interrogation room 2. You’re the detective listed?”

“Oh, yeah. Yeah, that’s me. Thanks, I’ll head in there in a sec.”

The beat cop walked off, and Jake gritted his teeth before standing up - ignoring the spots that flashed across his vision as he did so, and biting back the bolt of pain that reverberated out from his abdomen.

The annoying ache had long since turned into a throbbing pain, but it somehow still seemed to be worsening. Still, he wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to close this case - he knew Amy would swoop in and add it to her felony count in a heartbeat, and he wasn’t going to lose a point just because of a stupid little stomach ache.

Jake grabbed Phorgedan’s file off the desk, before heading to the interrogation room. Each step made the pain amplify, and, unlike before, it didn’t seem to fade back down afterwards. Jake grimaced, before pausing outside of the door and schooling his face into a more neutral expression.

He opened the door with little fanfare, walking to the desk and placing the file down onto it. Phorgedan eyed him warily, sitting back in a relaxed stance - his expression also carefully neutral.

“So, Phorgedan, do you know why you’re here?”

“No.” Phorgedan replied.

“Okay, well, let me explain it for you. There was a robbery on 19th street, a jewelry store. There were six cameras inside the store. All six of them showed a guy robbing the place with a gun and a green bag. And, there are another seven going from 19th street to your apartment. Interestingly, all of them showed you, running by with a green bag. And inside of your apartment, there’s a green bag with a gun and jewelry in it.” Jake felt oddly out of breath by the end of it, and he braced himself on the desk with one hand.

“That doesn’t prove anything.” Phorgedan frowned.

“You declined your lawyer?” Jake asked, checking the file.

Phrogedan nodded, “Yeah. I don’t need one. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Even if you’re innocent, having a lawyer is a good thing.” Jake knew the guy was guilty - well, he was 98% sure, anyway - but the value of having a lawyer isn’t something to overlook. _Especially_ if the person is innocent.

“Nope. I’m all good. Don’t want a lawyer.”

“Okay. Then, I’m going to ask questions now.” Jake said, unable to fully hide his grimace as he shifted his weight.

Phorgedan frowned slightly, but Jake brushed it off as the guy being nervous about the questioning.

“So, can you explain why you had a gun in your apartment?”

“Yeah.”

There was a beat.

“Can you explain why… out loud? To me?”

“Oh, yeah.” Phorgedan shrugged, leaning forward. “I have a license. Go hunting deer during the season, it’s good for making jerky.”

“Okay.” That was true - Jake had already checked. “Can you explain why you have jewelry in your apartment?”

“I have a girlfriend. Sometimes she leaves stuff at my place.”

“I see.” Jake forced himself to stop leaning against the table in order to adjust the file, hissing in pain as he did so.

“Hey man, you alright?” Phorgedan asked, eyes narrowed.

“So,” Jake ignored the question, “Your girlfriend left a bag full of jewelry, which just so happens to match every single missing item from this store exactly, down to the serial numbers?”

Phorgedan shrugged. “I don’t know about all that. My girlfriend leaves stuff around, I don’t question it.”

“Yeah, except your girlfriend was in Wyoming at the time of the robbery.” Jake pointed out, wincing as another spike of pain shot through him. He let his weight rest against the table again. He sincerely doubted he was going to be able to keep standing, let alone how he was going to even leave the room at the end of this.

“Your point being?” Phorgedan asked shortly, before adding, “Hey, man, maybe you should take a seat, yeah? You don’t look so hot.”

“I’m fine.” Jake said shortly. “My point is that you were seen robbing the store, we found the items stolen inside your apartment, and there is video evidence of you going from the store after the robbery to your apartment.”

Fuck, this was open-and-shut. But Jake was hoping for a confession - the DA was getting after the 99 for having too many prosecution cases, since they took longer to go through the system and lowered the numbers for their district.

Phorgedan frowned. “I think I do want a lawyer after all.”

Alright, I’ll have someone bring you a phone for the call.” Jake said, picking up the file with one hand. He braced himself, then stood up straight, letting go of the desk.

He couldn’t bite back the groan of pain that slipped out as he did, stumbling slightly as his head swam - his abdomen pulsed with agony, and one hand clutched at his side.

“Woah, hey,” Phorgedan said slowly, “You look like you need a doctor.”

“‘m fine.” Jake hissed through clenched teeth, “I’ll get that call for you.”

He turned, fully intent on leaving the interrogation room. The first step he took, his legs buckled.

Jake hit the ground with a bang, barely managing to catch himself on his arms. The file spilled out across the floor, and Jake let out a cry of pain. His vision blacked out, and the floor felt freezingly cold where it pressed against his skin.

When his vision cleared, Jake saw Phorgedan banging on the door. “Hey, hey! Something’s wrong with your cop!”

His vision looked blurry, and Jake belatedly realized that there were tears of pain running down his face. He tried to sit up, barely making it to his hands and knees - Jake felt like he was going to pass out.

Phorgedan stepped back as the door banged open, and Jake looked up to see Terry storming in as a few cops stood outside of the door. He did a double-take, before walking over to Jake.

“What the fuck happened?” He asked, crouching down.

“I think…” Jake gasped, “There’s something wrong.”

Terry gave Jake a once-over, and, seeing no sign of injury, frowned harder. “Come on, let’s get you up.”

Jake tried to stand, and immediately buckled again - this time, Terry catching him. One of his hands brushed Jake’s abdomen.

Jake screamed.

Terry jerked back, eyes narrowing harder. “Jake…” He said slowly, “I’m going to do something.” He pressed his hand down gently, and then let go.

Jake’s vision whited out from the agony. His hearing spaced out, too, and when both came back it was to Terry carrying him out of the precinct.

“You’ve got a bad case of appendicitis, Jake. How long have you been in pain?”

“Um…” Jake frowned. His brain hurt. “I dunno. A while, I guess.”

“Fuck,” Terry muttered, “You should’ve gone to the hospital ages ago. Come on, I’ll make sure you don’t die.”

“Don’t let Amy get the felony point.” Jake protested weakly.

“That’s the least of your problems right now, Jake.” Terry said, taking every step carefully - trying to keep Jake still. It was mostly effective, although Jake couldn’t fight the occasional whimper from slipping out as Terry shifted him.

As Terry deposited him into the gurney of an ambulance - one of the, albeit unfortunately necessary, benefits of working in a police precinct was the convenient access to medical aid.

Terry didn’t relay any information - the paramedics had clearly already been brought up to speed, probably by one of the other cops - and instead just glared at Jake with obvious worry in his eyes.

“Jake,” He said gruffly, “Don’t prioritize work over your health. It’s not safe, man.”

“Okay, mom,” Jake muttered, before flinching as a paramedic shifted the gurney back into the ambulance.

“I’m serious, Jake.” Then, to the paramedics, “Try not to let this idiot die.”

Naturally, Jake didn’t die. He did, however, end up laid up in the hospital for a week. Since his appendix had ruptured.

He had already tried to leave against medical orders a couple of times - since he didn’t want to miss any more cases - but Terry had threatened him with a mandatory vacation until he caved and stayed in the hospital.

Jake winced as he sat up - the surgical incision from where they had taken his appendix out hurt a bit, but, of course, it was nothing compared to the absolute agonizing pain of when he had had the stupid thing in.

Jake rolled his eyes - sure, he nearly died, but he was fine now. He was going to be able to go back to work in a bit, but until then, he was stuck here while everyone made sure he wasn’t going to drop dead from toxins.

Jake thought it was dumb that an organ with no practical purpose had the capacity to kill him. More importantly, he thought it was absurd that, just because he was gone from the precinct for a week, Amy got to close the Phergodan case instead of him.

She had sent him a text of the updated scoreboard the day after he got out of surgery.

Jake would have preferred to have finished the case while in all that agony, and _then_ gone to the hospital. But his ‘health emergency’ got in the way. If only his appendix could have waited one more day. But, of course, he supposed he _should_ be grateful to be alive, and all that. And he was! Especially to Terry.

At least the whole thing wasn't caused by that burger - now _that_ would have been awkward.

**Author's Note:**

> Total request: _If I may, and of course if you're still taking prompts, in b99 s1 ep4 "M.E. Time", the medical examiner told Jake his appendix is inflamed and it actually took him a second to understand that that is bad, but he's still the Dork we know and love so he didn't give it much thought, but what if after a few months but before his undercover mission he had a severe "stomach ache" and even though he chalked it up as nothing that two days old burger he ate in the morning (which wasn't even in the fridge of course because he's jake and he forgets) for example, and during an interrogation or something in the precinct he couldn't even stand from the pain (gritting his teeth to keep from screaming but a few whimpers pass to the point that even the perp gets worried and calls for someone)._
> 
> thank you for your request! i enjoyed writing this (since jake has such an unhealthy work-life balance and it's something the show covers occasionally) :D
> 
> please comment if you are so inclined! <3


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